You might not know about this, you might have never heard about it.
Either way, it’s not as rare as you’d think. Prolapses during birth are common, and if it happens, you might need some guidance on losing that baby weight while dealing with the effects.
That’s what this amazing FitPerezcious Reader needs to know:
I am 25 and a mother of a 2 and a half year old girl and a 6 month old boy. With my second pregnancy I developed a level 2 prolapse and I had never heard of it until it happened. I must mention I am in Australia too. Anyway, I am desperate to lose my baby belly and I am very limited as to what I can do. Do you have any suggestions? I have been told that I have to restrict how often I pick up my kids (this part is horrible, to be told not to pick up your kids often), I’m not allowed to run, use the rowing machine, pick up heavy weights. All of this sucks. I also wanted to ask you Perez if you could do an entry on prolapses. I have been told by my physio and drs that this is a common thing yet it’s never spoken about in birthing classes or sex ed. I was never told how to do kegels right until this happened. I want to make woman aware that this happens even to young people. Having this is almost depressing. The feeling that it all may just fall out. To not be able to run after your kids etc. I am also going to write to the health board over here but I know many many women visit your site and it would be amazing if you could say something. Yes there are a surgical options, a full hystorectomy or to stitch everything back up into place which means I am out of complete lifting duties for 6 weeks. I can even (which i am doing today) get a pressary ring inserted which holds it in place temporarily. If I was told about prolapses and told how to do the kegels right, I really don’t think I would be in this horrible situation. The more woman, who are my age especially, that I can help stop this happening to, the better.
I hope you will say something and if you do, thank you in advance.
For this very special question and request, we wanted to get a special response.
Here’s what Dr. Oz has to say:
I’m so proud of you for bringing up this very personal problem. You know, when I started the television show, no one in the media was talking about pelvic prolapse. It’s a topic that comes with a lot of fright and shame, but the truth is it’s not uncommon. The fact is that the whole process of having a baby puts incredible pressure on the pelvic floor including the muscles that support those critical structures around and below the belt. Some other issues that, in addition to pregnancy and childbirth, might contribute to pelvic prolapse include extra weight, constipation (believe it or not – because you keep pushing too hard to pass your bowels) and jobs that require heavy lifting. You mentioned a pessary – there is some data that suggests women who use a pessary after prolapse can improve. I also want to stress the importance of keeping core muscles engaged, in addition to kegels. These days there are actual fitness trainers who do pelvic floor workouts to help restore muscular tension to this region, especially for women post-childbirth. Last year I featured a group of women doctors from Chicago who were making it a mission of theirs to bring attention to the problem of pelvic prolapse and reduce the shame factor. There are many more doctors now who are beginning to specialize in these issues, and that can only lead to more successful prevention and treatment strategies.
We hope this helps, reader!
And we hope those little nuggets of yours are doing well!
If U have any more questions for Dr. Oz about childbirth OR anything else, feel free to email them to [email protected]!
[Image via WENN.]
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